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I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.[2]

8 C.F.R.337.1 provides that the phrase "so help me God" is optional and that the words ‘on oath’ can be substituted with ‘and solemnly affirm’.

If the prospective citizen is unable or unwilling to promise to bear arms or perform noncombatant military service, they may request to leave out those clauses. The request must be based on "religious training and belief", and the CIS may require supporting documentation from the candidate's religious organization.[3] A request was denied in 1968 on the basis that "[the petitioner did not recognize] some external force greater than man's relationship to man which occupied a position in his life tantamount to a God or a Supreme Being."[4] In 2013, Margaret Doughty was asked to join a church in response to her request,[5] but USCIS later retracted that request after objections based on Welsh vs. United States by atheist groups.[6][7]

The current exact text of the Oath of Citizenship is established only in the form of an administrative regulation promulgated by the executive branch. However, under the Administrative Procedure Act, CIS could theoretically change the text of the oath at any time, so long as the new text reasonably meets the "five principles" mandated by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1953. These principles are:

There has been some controversy about the wording of the oath, parts of which are based on the British Oath of Supremacy[citation needed] which was written in the 16th Century. As a result, some[who?] have suggested much of the language is antiquated and confusing. In the fall of 2003, CIS planned to change the oath of citizenship in time for Citizenship Day (September 17).[8] The proposed oath was as follows:

Solemnly, freely, and without mental reservation, I hereby renounce under oath all allegiance to any foreign state. My fidelity and allegiance from this day forward is to the United States of America. I pledge to support, honor, and be loyal to the United States, its Constitution, and its laws. Where and if lawfully required, I further commit myself to defend the Constitution and laws of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, either by military, noncombatant, or civilian service. This I do solemnly swear, so help me God.[9]

The introduction of the new oath was scrapped by the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims on April 1, 2004.[10]